Dan (simplified Chinese: 担; traditional Chinese: 擔; pinyin: dàn), or Daam in Cantonese, Tan in Japanese and Taiwanese, also called "Chinese hundredweight" or "picul", is a traditional Chinese unit for weight measurement in East Asia. It originated in China before being introduced to neighboring countries. Nowaday, the mass of 1 dan equals 100 jin or 50 kg in mainland China, 60 kg in Taiwan and Japan, and 60.478982 kg in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia. Dan is mostly used in the traditional markets.
China Mainland
On June 25, 1959, the State Council of the People's Republic of China issued the Order on the Unified Measurement System, with minor amendment to the market system. "
| Pinyin | Character | Relative value | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lí | 市厘 | 1⁄10000 | 50 mg | 0.001764 oz | cash |
| fēn | 市分 | 1⁄1000 | 500 mg | 0.01764 oz | candareen |
| qián | 市錢 | 1⁄100 | 5 g | 0.1764 oz | mace or Chinese dram |
| liǎng | 市兩 | 1⁄10 | 50 g | 1.764 oz | tael or Chinese ounce |
| jīn | 市斤 | 1 | 500 g | 1.102 lb | catty or Chinese pound formerly 16 liang = 1 jin |
| dàn | 市擔 | 100 | 50 kg | 110.2 lb | picul or Chinese hundredweight |
Legally, 1 dan equals 100 jins, 50 kg, or 110.2 lb.
Taiwan
The so-called Taiwan dan is actually the dan used throughout China during the Qing Dynasty. 1 Taiwan dan is 60 kg, equal to 100 Taiwan jin.
| Unit | Relative value | Metric | US & Imperial | Notes | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Taiwanese Hokkien | Hakka | Mandarin | Character | Legal | Decimal | Exact | Approx. | ||
| Lî | Lî | Lí | 釐 | 1⁄1000 | 3/80,000 kg | 37.5 mg | 3750/45,359,237 lb | 0.5787 gr | Cash; Same as Japanese Rin |
| Hun | Fûn | Fēn | 分 | 1⁄100 | 3/8000 kg | 375 mg | 37,500/45,359,237 lb | 5.787 gr | Candareen; Same as Japanese Fun |
| Chîⁿ | Chhièn | Qián | 錢 | 1⁄10 | 3/800 kg | 3.75 g | 375,000/45,359,237 lb | 2.116 dr | Mace; Same as Japanese Momme (匁) |
| Niú | Liông | Liǎng | 兩 | 1 | 3/80 kg | 37.5 g | 3,750,000/45,359,237 lb | 21.16 dr | Tael |
| Kin/Kun | Kîn | Jīn | 斤 | 16 | 3/5 kg | 600 g | 60,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 1.323 lb | Catty; Same as Japanese Kin |
| Tàⁿ | Tâm | Dàn | 擔 | 1600 | 60 kg | 6,000,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 132.3 lb | Picul; Same as Japanese Tan | |
Hong Kong and Macau
Hong Kong law stipulates that one dan is equal to one hundred jin , which is 60.478982 kg.
| Jyutping | Character | English | Portuguese | Relative value | Relation to the Traditional Chinese Units (Macau) | Metric value | Imperial value | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| lei4 | 厘 | li, cash | liz | 1⁄16000 | 1⁄10 condorim | 37.79931 mg | 0.02133 dr | |
| fan1 | 分 | fen, candareen (fan) | condorim | 1⁄1600 | 1⁄10 maz | 377.9936375 mg | 0.2133 dr | |
| cin4 | 錢 | qian, mace (tsin) | maz | 1⁄160 | 1⁄10 tael | 3.779936375 g | 2.1333 dr | |
| loeng2 | 兩 | liang, leung, tael | tael | 1⁄16 | 1⁄16 cate | 37.79936375 g | 1.3333 oz | 604.78982/16=37.79936375 |
| gan1 | 斤 | jin, kan, catty | cate | 1 | 1⁄100 pico | 604.78982 g | 1.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
| daam3 | 擔 | dan, tam, picul | pico | 100 | None | 60.478982 kg | 133.3333 lb | Hong Kong and Macau share the definition. |
Singapore and Malaysia have similar regulations as Hong Kong, as they are all former British colonies.
Japan
In Japan, 1 dan, or tan in Japanese pronunciation, is equal to 60 kg.
| Unit | Kan | Metric | US & Imperial | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Romanised | Kanji | Legal | Decimal | Exact | Approx. | |||||||
| Mō | 毛 or 毫 | 1⁄1,000,000 | 3/800,000 kg | 3.75 mg | 375/45,359,237 lb | 8.267 μlb | ||||||
| Rin | 厘 | 1⁄100,000 | 3/80,000 kg | 37.5 mg | 3750/45,359,237 lb | 0.5787 gr | ||||||
| Fun | 分 | 1⁄10,000 | 3/8000 kg | 375 mg | 37,500/45,359,237 lb | 5.787 gr | ||||||
| Momme Monme |
匁 | 1⁄1000 | 3/800 kg | 3.75 g | 375,000/45,359,237 lb | 2.116 dr | ||||||
| Hyakume | 百目 | 1⁄10 | 3/8 kg | 375 g | 37,500,000/45,359,237 lb | 13.23 oz | ||||||
| Kin | 斤 | 4⁄25 | 3/5 kg | 600 g | 60,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 1.323 lb | ||||||
| Kan(me) | 貫(目) | 1 | 15/4 kg | 3.75 kg | 375,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 8.267 lb | ||||||
| Maru | 丸 | 8 | 30 kg | 3,000,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 66.14 lb | |||||||
| Tan | 担 or 擔 | 16 | 60 kg | 6,000,000,000/45,359,237 lb | 132.3 lb | |||||||
Notes:
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See also
- Chinese units of measurement
- Hong Kong units of measurement
- Taiwanese units of measurement
- Japanese units of measurement
Notes
- Formerly, the Chinese measure word 擔/担 was also written as 石 (pronounced "shi" or "dan")
- "Picul" is an English translation of Chinese word "擔" (dàn) according to its sounds in Malay "pikul", before Pinyin and Jyutping were available.
- The kan is also sometimes known in English as the kwan.
References
- "Shi: unit of weight". Britannica.
- "《重編國語辭典修訂本》臺灣學術網路第六版 ("Revised Edition of the Chinese Dictionary" Taiwan Academic Network Sixth Edition)". 中華民國教育部 (Ministry of Education of the Republic of China).
- "Oxford English Dictionary".
- ^ (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, pages 311 to 312
- Weights and Measures in Use in Taiwan Archived 2010-12-29 at the Wayback Machine from the Republic of China Yearbook – Taiwan 2001.
- ^ "Regulation on Approval and Notification of Herbal (crude) Medicinal Preparations, Etc". Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
- ^ "Weights and Measures Ordinance". Laws of Hong Kong.
- ^ "Weights and Measures Act". Statutes of the Republic of Singapore.
- "Weights and Measures Act 1972". Laws of Malaysia. Archived from the original on 2014-02-01.
- "国务院关于统一我国计量制度的命令 (Order of the State Council on unifying my country's measurement system)". Archived from the original on 2010-12-06. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- (in Chinese) 1959 Gazette of the State Council of the People's Republic of China, No. 180, page 316
- Language Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (2016). 现代汉语词典 (附錄：計量單位表) [Contemporary Chinese Dictionary (Appendix: Measure units)] (in Chinese) (7th ed.). Beijing: Commercial Press. p. 1792. ISBN 978-7-100-12450-8.
- Andrade, Tonio (2005). "Appendix A: Weights, Measures, and Exchange Rates". How Taiwan Became Chinese: Dutch, Spanish, and Han Colonization in the Seventeenth Century. Columbia University Press.
- Law No. 14/92/M ((in Chinese) 第14/92/M號法律; (in Portuguese) Lei n. 14/92/M)
- 日本パン公正取引協議会：包装食パンの斤表示の義務化. www.pan-koutorikyo.jp. Archived from the original on 2020-11-01. Retrieved 2018-08-17.
- Iwata, Shigeo. "Weights and Measures in Japan"
- Nagase-Reimer (2016), p. xiii.
- USWD (1944), p. 400.
Sources
- Nagase-Reimer, Keiko (2016), Copper in the Early Modern Sino-Japanese Trade, Monies, Markets, and Finance in East Asia, 1600–1900, Vol. VII, Leiden: Brill, ISBN 9789004304512
- "Japanese Weights, Measures, and Moneys", Handbook on Japanese Military Forces, Technical Manual E 30–480, Washington: US War Department, 1944, p. 400–1, ISBN 9780807164464, reprinted by the Louisiana State University Press at Baton Rouge in 1991.